


That One Fic Where Gibbs is an Indie Music Artist AND an NCIS Agent

by ReapersAngel



Category: NCIS
Genre: (for a bunch of drabbles I'm writing heh), Abby's iPods, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Caitlin Todd Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gibbs is an Indie Music Artist, Alternate Universe - Indie Music Artist(s), Alternate Universe - Music, Alternate Universe - Popstar, Alternate Universe - Shannon is an Indie Music Artist, Alternate Universe - Timeline Changes, And finally got it out, As I was typing in Tony into the character tags I almost typed 'Anthony Gibbs', Been sitting on this idea for weeks, But you can still read it like that if you want, Can be read as Anthony DiNozzo/Jethro Gibbs, Case Fic, Coffee, Did you know that 'Alternate Universe of an Alternate Universe' is a tag, Disclaimer: Credits to NCIS and CBS, Ends with Case, Gen, Gibbs the Coffee Addict, Intercom of NCIS, It deviated from the original planning oops, It was meant to be Gibbs/Tony, Just a super-indulgent fic really, Just realized the timeline is played with because of Vance, Law Person is a Plot Device, Rated Teen for like one 'fucker', SO, Sort Of, Spoilers, There's just so many AUs in here huh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26400733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReapersAngel/pseuds/ReapersAngel
Summary: The title pretty much explains it.
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo & Jethro Gibbs, The Gibbs Team - Relationship, The MCRT Team, The NCIS Team
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	That One Fic Where Gibbs is an Indie Music Artist AND an NCIS Agent

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be Gibbs/Tony, but alas, my lady fate works in mysterious ways. Also, Pan!Tony! Headcanon! I love! Not specifically in here but still!

Tony tilted his head, eyes slightly narrowed as he stared at Kate.

They were all at their desks, working, but what was odd was that today _Kate_ had music. Usually it was Tony, who had games on his computer (which Gibbs did not tolerate) or brought in something to play music on (which Gibbs _did_ tolerate, for who knows what reason), but today there was an iPod sitting in plain sight on Kate’s desk and earbuds in her ears. She hadn’t noticed his staring, which usually by now she would have.

Gibbs, however, had eyes and ears _everywhere_. “Get back to work, DiNozzo,” He said, not looking up from his own paperwork.

“Right, Boss,” Tony replied, ducking his head down and looking at his desk. He shot one final glance at Kate.

* * *

At lunch he managed to corner her. “What were you listening to today?”

Surprisingly she didn’t react defensively. “Oh, just some new music Abby got me into,” She said. “Why, want to listen?”

By now Tony was curious, and nosy as a cat. He’d never known Abby to deviate from the usual punk/rock/goth/emo music she usually had blasting in her lab, and Kate didn’t seem like the type to listen to Abby’s choices. “Sure, why not,” He said, shrugging.

“Head down to the lab,” Kate said, “I think I heard Abby mention she had a spare iPod.”

Tony nodded and headed to the elevator that would take him down to the lab. He passed Gibbs, who was still engrossed in his paperwork, and McGee, who had an iPod with sparkling rhinestones shaped like a skull on the back of a case designed to look like circuitry. Tony raised his eyebrow. It seemed McGee had also been converted to this new music.

A few minutes later he was striding into Abby’s lab. “Tony!” She squealed, hugging him quickly. “What brings you down here?”

“Nothing much,” He replied, “Just curious about the new music-dom you converted Kate and McGee to.”

“You nosy thing!” She exclaimed, squeezing his cheeks. “But this is good! I was planning to hit you next!” She ducked over to her desk and emerged with a shoebox. She took the lid off and offered its contents to Tony. “Choose your doom.”

Tony peeked inside and raised an eyebrow at the sight. ‘A spare iPod’, his ass. There had to be twenty _at least_ , all with different casing designs. They all had some little Abby magic touch - a skull charm there, a little snake here, a tiny ankh somewhere. There was even one in a hardy, practical Marine logo case with a black ribbon as a phone strap that Tony would bet his life was meant for when Abby tackled Gibbs.

“They all have the same music,” She added.

“I’ll take this one,” Tony decided, picking up an iPod. The case was designed to look like a movie reel and a clapboard, with a little black feather charm hanging off of one of those little black string loops. Abby beamed at him - obviously he’d chosen the one meant for him - and went to put the box away.

“So,” She said after the shoebox of iPods had been stashed away, “You have something to listen to it with at your desk?”

Tony thought back to his desk drawer. There was maybe a fifty percent chance that he had a pair of earbuds in there. “I think,” He said.

“Come back down if you don’t,” Abby said. The gleam in her eyes told Tony that she probably had another shoebox of earbuds or headphones hidden away somewhere.

“I will,” He said obediently, then was promptly dismissed in favour of computers. He turned around and took the elevator right back up to the squadroom.

As it turned out, he did _not_ have any listening devices cluttered away in his desk somewhere. He took his drawer out and dumped it on the floor and scrounged through it, much to the silent amusement of Gibbs that he was _sure_ he could feel, but when he looked up the man was just scrawling away at his paperwork.

Eventually Tony gave up and ate his lunch while staring off into space. When he done, lunch break was unofficially but Gibbs-officially over, so he got back to work. Before picking up his pen, though, he scrolled through the music on the iPod. He unlocked his phone and searched up the first album, and turned his audio so it was on the lowest possible setting where he could still hear it.

The first album was actually pretty good. There was a soft, slow love song that he knew Kate probably liked, a darker, more haunting melody that Abby definitely would’ve squealed at, and some technical thing that had probably drawn McGee in. For Tony, just the mix of all-around music in one album was something that he liked.

One of the voices sounded familiar, but Tony couldn’t really put his finger on it.

He looked up, once, and saw Gibbs staring off into space, a nostalgic smile on his face. Then, he realized Tony was watching him and glared him back into doing his work.

Eventually the first album ended and Tony searched up the next one. One of the top results was titled ‘Indie Music Artist and Child Dead in Car Crash’. Tony frowned and clicked it. The video was silent, text fading on and off the screen. Apparently, the artists were spouses, and one - not the one that he thought sounded familiar, but the other one that he thought sounded female - along with their child had perished in a car crash. Tony’s heart squeezed - he may not have been totally in love with the music yet, but death made anyone feel sad. Especially that of a child or someone’s family.

The video stated that the surviving family member and artist had gone on hiatus, and then had come back with their second - and now solo - album. The creator then expressed their sympathies to the artist, and the video ended. Tony went back and clicked the second album. The cover picture was a child’s crayon drawing.

The first couple of songs were dark, sad, clinging at tugging out his soul. Tony thought Gibbs might chew him out, with how little work he was now getting done, but he didn’t. Kate and McGee were both off in their own little musical worlds, and so they didn’t notice.

Throughout the whole album Tony recognized someone going through grief. He pushed himself through his work nonetheless.

He had gotten through the next few albums when Gibbs had sent them home. He had begged off, saying he had one more page to finish, and Gibbs had let him stay. He watched as Kate and McGee packed their bags and left after saying their goodbyes, then worked through the last paper. The artificial lights were crap without the skylight, even if it cast a horrible glare on his computer. He took as much as time possible, not really in a desperate hurry back to his apartment.

He finished the page and placed it in his ‘completed’ stack, then did a double-take at Gibbs, who still had a good chunk of his work undone. He was staring at Tony thoughtfully, almost as if he didn’t know he was doing it. There was a legal pad next to him on the desk - one of the yellow paper ones with the blue lines - and he was writing on it, not even looking at it as his hand moved.

Tony cleared his throat. “Want me to take some of that for you, Boss?”

Gibbs startled - confusing and surprising - then his mask slipped back in place. “DiNozzo,” He muttered gruffly, “Go home.”

Since that wasn’t an outright ‘no’, Tony rolled his chair, his phone, and him to Gibbs’ desk. He picked a pencil and half of Gibbs’ paperwork and started going at it. He caught the word _sunrise_ on the legal pad before Gibbs squirreled it away, the stubbornly frugal bastard. 

By now they were quite adept at forging penmanship, no matter which team member’s it was. Though, Tony had to proudly say he was the best at Gibbs’, since they consistently stayed late to work together. He imagined that Gibbs was the best at forging his, since he would never admit it. Besides, they were federal agents. Who would turn them in, because they had a _reputation_.

They finished the remaining paperwork between them, and packed up their bags.

“ ‘Night, Boss,” Tony said, shouldering his bag.

“DiNozzo,” Gibbs said. Tony stopped and looked over his shoulder. Gibbs was looking at him, head cocked to the side with the same thoughtful look on his face he had had on earlier. “Come to my place,” He said.

“Sure,” Tony said without hesitation. He fell in-step behind Gibbs, and they rode the elevator down. There was no one left at NCIS besides the security guards, and they waved Tony and Gibbs out of the building without any fanfare. To be fair, it was a pretty usual occurrence.

Tony let Gibbs corral him into his car, and they drove off. Gibbs was chewing on his lip, driving absentmindedly and not as fast and lethal as usual. He did almost run over a pedestrian on a night walk, but Tony didn’t blame it on him. They weren’t wearing any reflective gear, and shouted angrily at them. Tony stuck his tongue out as they drove past. He felt the soft headslap that wasn’t really a headslap, but didn’t see Gibbs look at him fondly.

Gibbs parked the car in his driveway, and they headed down into the basement. Tony dragged a workbench next to Gibbs’ newest boat and sat, idly taking in the contents of the room as Gibbs poured them both bourbon into jars. He came over and handed Tony one of the jar-glasses and sat down on the opposite workbench.

“Any particular reason you invited me over Boss?” Tony said, taking a sip.

Gibbs shrugged. “You looked like you didn’t want to go back to your apartment.”

“Mmm,” Tony said, “True.”

They sat and drank bourbon, occasionally talking to each other. Gibbs’ cheeks steadily turned rosy, and Tony was sure he was just as drunk.

And, for the life of him, when Tony woke up on Gibbs’ spare bed, he couldn’t remember what they had said.

* * *

The days continued to pass like normal - case, reports, case, reports, paperwork, paperwork, paperwork, case - and Tony fell under whatever spell that was the music on the iPod Abby had given him. Besides the first day, he remembered to bring headphones, to the loss of Gibbs’ thoughtful stares. He, Kate, and McGee chatted about it when they had a free moment, and Abby when she was bored, and once he went down to Autopsy to see Ducky, of all people, with his own iPod. They started to include the ME into their chats, then Palmer when Abby succeeded in converting him. Tony wasn’t sure that her plan wasn’t to convert the whole of NCIS.

They agreed that the voice singing sounded familiar - _Very familiar_ , Abby had described it once, _Very hinky_ \- but couldn’t place it.

From then on Tony went through his day seeing _at least_ two or three iPods other than his own, Kate’s, McGee’s, Ducky’s, Abby’s, or Palmer’s. It seemed Abby had put Gibbs on a pause and was invading the rest of NCIS. Whenever Tony had his iPod and saw someone else with theirs, they made eye contact and had this deeply uncomfortable but completely understanding moment of _She got you too, huh_.

Abby soon encroached so much on NCIS they were completely conquered and under her reign. Tony had even seen an iPod for Vance on the Director’s desk.

Which, sort of could explain open mic night.

To be fair, it was more like open intercom day. Anyone and everyone could stop by the intercom room, and as long as it was appropriate, could do anything. There had been a few music choices throughout the day, and someone won a bet pool in the lower floors.

Tony had mostly ignored it, until he and Gibbs were getting coffee in the breakroom. A new voice buzzed on over the intercom, and Tony vaguely realized it was a law person - _Rule 13, never involve lawyers_ \- who he had interacted with a few times. He mostly tuned it out.

Gibbs, however, did not and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you got an admirer DiNozzo,” He said, sipping his coffee as he leaned against the counter.

“Huh?” Tony said. He tuned his ears onto the intercom, and listened. He just barely caught the end of it.

“...And when I heard this song, I immediately knew it was meant for you. So, Tony, I hope you enjoy this song, and I love you.”

Tony internally sighed at the words, wincing as he tried to figure out the best way to say he didn’t have feelings for this law person. Then he frowned.

It was one of the artist’s songs that were on every iPod Abby handed out. He knew each song inside out and backward and played sped up or slowed down and unconscious.

Which was how he knew this song was wrong. Wrong, at least, for a love confession. On the surface, it seemed like a love song, but as someone who had encountered grief, Tony could read between the lines. Second album, it was about breaking down and losing the pieces of yourself, finding them and then having to put yourself back together.

Gibbs made a noise that alarmed Tony, and he turned to face him. “No,” He muttered, settling his coffee down. Tony felt his alarm grow at seeing Gibbs’ hand wobble. “It’s wrong.”

Then he took off, and without any other option, really, Tony grabbed Gibbs’ coffee in his left hand and chased after him.

About halfway there Tony realized they were heading towards the intercom room. Everyone stared, startled, as they ran past. Tony multitasked between throwing apologies over his shoulder, balancing the coffees, and trying not to trip over his own feet as he tried to catch up with Gibbs. His legs might’ve been longer, but _damn_ that fucker could go _fast_.

They burst into the intercom room - really, though, it was more like Gibbs burst in and metaphorically kicked down the door while Tony hunched over, panting with two coffee under the door frame - and the law person stared at them, startled, eyes dashing between Gibbs and him. The people manning the intercom didn’t even blink, and it made Tony wonder how many times Gibbs had barged into the intercom room versus MTAC.

_Probably MTAC more_ , he mused as Gibbs opened his mouth. Then he turned his ears on.

“You’re wrong,” He said, loud enough to be heard. Tony didn’t know if the microphone picked it up or not. “This song isn’t right.”

The law person recovered quicker than Tony would’ve thought possible for a law person. “Oh yeah? And how do _you_ know, Agent Gibbs?”

Gibbs didn’t show if he was aback by the outburst or not - he just had a blank, determined mask on. “It’s about grief and loss,” He said. “Can’t you hear it?” He sounded frustrated.

“Will, _I_ interpret it as love,” The law person said haughtily, sniffing.

“It’s not,” Gibbs said, frustrated with just a hint of desperation. “Can’t you _see_?”

“And how do you know?” The law person said, oblivious to Gibbs’ tone of voice.

“ _Because_ _I wrote it_!” Gibbs shouted. Everything was silent, and Tony saw the exact moment that Gibbs realized what he’d said - he stiffened and his shoulders went up and straight, preparing for battle. Tony could just _see_ the walls going up and the hackles rising.

“Boss,” He said. His voice had that breathy quality of someone who had just run a lot or really fast or both. Everyone in the room turned towards him, everyone with stunned looks on, except Gibbs, who looked stiff and resigned and fearful all at once. “Coffee?” He suggested, offering the cup in his right hand to Gibbs.

Gibbs took the cup gratefully and threw back as much as he could. He came up coughing and sputtering. “What the _hell_ , DiNozzo.”

Tony grinned and traded cups. “Did it work, Boss?”

Gibbs grinned at him, reaching over to headslap him. “It worked.” Distantly they both heard the elevator ding.

“Is there some way we can barricade ourselves in here,” Tony said, completely resigned to their fates.

“No,” Gibbs said, just as resigned as Tony. Footsteps pounded nearer.

“ _Gibbs_!” Abby shouted as she launched herself at him. Somehow he didn’t drop his coffee and caught her.

“You didn’t tell me!” She complained. “Spill! I want details!”

Kate and McGee finally appeared, both with the rueful and apologetic - and _classic_ , in Tony’s opinion - _We couldn’t stop her_ looks as they panted and dropped next to Tony. He could see Ducky ambling up, chatting with Palmer.

“And _Tony_!” Abby said, throwing herself at him. He didn’t have Gibbs’ ninja skills, and his coffee nearly spilled before Kate caught it. “Did you know?!” She demanded.

“I didn’t, Abs,” He said. “Honest,” He said at her glare. “Besides, you know this is probably all being recorded, right?” He joked.

Abby, Kate, and McGee just seemed to realize this, with varying emotions flying across their faces. Ducky walked in and looked around.

“Well,” He said, “My dears, why wasn’t I invited to our party?”

“We’re going to go down in history, Ducky,” Tony said, grinning at him. Ducky smiled back.

“Um, Agent Gibbs, your phone was ringing,” Palmer said. He offered Gibbs his mobile, which he flipped open.

“Gibbs,” He said. His face got that shuttered, stony look that Tony, Kate, and McGee called his _He means business_ look. He shut his phone, and Tony, Abby, Kate, and McGee reluctantly picked themselves off the floor. “Gear up,” Gibbs said, “Dead Petty Officer in Norfolk.”

They dashed back to their desks and geared up, then jostled to the elevator. Abby, Ducky, and Palmer waved them off, looking at each other with their signature fond _The babies are flying out of the nest_ looks.

“Wait!” The law person said, running towards them. Tony thought that everyone in the intercom room would’ve still been in shock. “Tony, will you go out with me?”

“Didn’t you hear?” Tony said as the elevator doors closed, “Case.”

The elevator doors shut and the last thing Tony saw was Abby’s look of maniacal glee that meant she was going to take advantage of some poor person, and Ducky’s _Really, who am I to stop her_ look. Gibbs headslapped him.

“What was that for, Boss?” He complained, rubbing the back of his head. “Bastard,” He muttered.

Kate and McGee grinned at him.

**Author's Note:**

> Some notes I had (again, too lazy to write them out coherently lmao):  
> \- It started as Gibbs and Shannon  
> \- Hiatus when Shannon and Kelly died  
> \- Hiatus during Mexico  
> \- Tony's never listened to it but Kate likes it  
> \- Gibbs does several genres; all-rounder  
> \- Abby converted McGee  
> \- Abby lets Tony borrow her spare ipod and has all the albums  
> \- First album: Boat in a Bottle  
> \- BiaB Design: White background, boat in a bottle with sand, seashells, and water  
> \- Second album design: A child's (Kelly's) crayon drawing of her family  
> \- After first hiatus Gibbs tells his fans that Shannon and Kelly (doesn't use names, just says spouse and child) died in a car accident  
> \- Tony falls in love with Gibbs' voice (the whole team thinks it sounds familiar but can't place it)  
> \- So he goes and read fanfictions  
> \- Line: If you had asked Tony yesterday what he knew about fanfiction, he would've discreetly changed the topic or just have said "not much". If you asked him today, he would've given you the rundown of, in his opinion, the four basic genres - fluff, smut, crack, and gen - and maybe have recommended something for you.  
> (As you can see, the plot for this fic changed very drastically)
> 
> iPod Designs:  
> iPod Designs:  
> Kate: Overlapping feather design (hawk or sparrow), small black dream-catcher in the corner of case  
> McGee: Based off circuitry, rhinestones in skull shape  
> Abby: Black case with black lace and ribbon  
> Tony: Movie reel and clapboard, black feather charm  
> Gibbs: Hardy and practical Marine logo case, black ribbon as phonestrap  
> Ducky: Case designed to look like a suit with a patterned bowtie, black heart charm  
> Palmer: Something with an ankh
> 
> Comments and kudoes appreciated!


End file.
